Ball joint and UCA replacement?

Well about a month ago I swapped in some tundra struts from a 03 TRD OR and got around 2 1/2" of lift. Now I think my UBJ needs to be replaced and should I get something like chaos UCA to stop this from happening again so quickly?
And the second part is should I do the lower as well? Thanks for any input.
Jason

 

what year did the tundra struts come off? thinking i might do this to replace my stock struts and 2 1/2 spacers.

 

They are from a 2004 tundra, but any first gen tundra TRD off road should be fine. Sorry for taking a while to respond, been a busy spring.

 

In my opinion, that upper ball joint likely DOES NOT need to be replaced. a hole in the boot is just that, a hole in the boot. The only thing that could do would be let dust and dirt inside, Thus making your ball joint wear out quicker.
my way to check the ball joints are a little different than others, because its more effective in my opinion.
to check the upper ball joint, i take off the front tires and put the truck on jacks. grab the spindle and shake back and forth and try to wiggle it inside of the upper control arm. if it wobbles at all, replace it. if it is nice and tight, then you are fine.

as for the lowers, basically do the exact same thing. the lowers can be checked with the tires on, but off the ground, and grabbing the tire at 12 and 6 o clock and pulling back and forth.

 

Hey thanks for the reply and the info. I will peel the tire off tomorrow while working on the bumper and check the ball joints. I'm fairly sure the lowers are ok I've given it the wiggle test already with the tires on. It seemed ok though I will check again while I'm looking at the upper

 

You are welcome! Good luck!

 

If you do end up getting new ball joints BE CAREFUL! I have a friend who bought some cheapos in an effort to save $$ And he ended up snapping it in half.